the glass factory.           
                                        
                                        
                                      
                                  
                                  
                                          
 several  centuries  after  it  had  last 
 belonged to us, we went on an outing  to 
 the glass factory  that  bore our family 
 name. it  had changed owners  many times 
 since  our  ancestors  death,  and  then 
 stood  abandoned   for  a   long  while. 
 finally,  the  natural end  station  for 
 the  buildings  that  survive: a museum, 
 and a gift shop.                         
                                          
 there's  a long  time  since  my  family 
 made  anything.  by  many,  we would  be 
 considered poor.                         
                                          
 there  are  two main  factory buildings, 
 domed things of  several floors, made in 
 yellow brick. large but  narrow windows, 
 reminescent    of    some     cathedral. 
 custom-made glass, of course,  large and 
 leaded, and ashen. a bit too  dark to be 
 practical.  on  the   eastern  building, 
 some are shattered.                      
                                          
 the other  one is publicly open. there's 
 a museum, with  wax  figures of my great 
 great  great grandfather, or  something. 
 various  tools (or replicas) laid out on 
 tables, with explaining texts. a lot  of 
 glass     of     varying      thickness. 
                                          
                                        
                                      
                          
                                      
                                        
                                          
 i quickly sneak out,  and climb into the 
 other   building.   the    contrast   is 
 overwhelming.   it   must   have   stood 
 derelict   for  a  long   time,  windows 
 broken,  metallic  trash  and  pools  of 
 dark   glass  all  over  the  floor.  no 
 electric  lights,  but i  can see by the 
 light that  shines in wherever  the dark 
 windows    are    missing     a    pane. 
                                          
 however,  the greatest difference is the 
 higher floors:  this building  has none. 
 it is one massive  hall, stretching away 
 infinitely  above me. somewhere up there 
 is  some  great  iron  latticework, from 
 where  chains are  suspended, and  parts 
 of  machinery  has  been  falling  down. 
                                          
 there  is,  in  the middle  of the great 
 hall,   a  thin  spiral  staircase  that 
 leads up there.  i sneak over there, and 
 take a few  reluctant  steps. after just 
 a revolution, i  notice  that  for  each 
 step  the building starts  to  glow, the 
 bricks  turning  a  dark  red,  and then 
 orange,  all  the piled up debree  being 
 lit from behind.                         
                                          
 i  stop ready to  run down  and out, but 
 there's  someone else  on  the staircase 
 with   me  now,   pressed  close.   he's 
 looking  like me, short  hair  and  thin 
 arms,  but with  ears  from some animal, 
 and more  disturbingly,  completely made 
 of dark liquid glass.                    
                                          
                                        
                                      
                          
                                      
                                        
                                          
 my  fear  holds  me in  place  while  he 
 starts operating  levers  and  dials set 
 in the  center of the staircase. slowly, 
 it starts  spinning,  circling  upwards. 
 it's  an   elevator!  i  start  to   run 
 downwards,  but   now  the  liquid   boy 
 creature  grabs  hold  of  me.  i try to 
 shake him off, but he's  too strong, and 
 pulls   me    back   up   beside    him. 
                                          
 this  time, i  turn angry instead.  what 
 the hell? who is this  guy, acting  like 
 this?  i  reach out my free arm and slam 
 a  random   lever.  some  metal  bar  is 
 suddenly  released  between us,  hitting 
 him on the  arm,  forcing my  release. i 
 shove him off  of  me, and he falls into 
 the    levers,    messing    them    up. 
 immediately,   a  thin  rusty  chainmail 
 curtain  is dropped  around me. but  the 
 elevator  also  speeds up significantly. 
                                          
 the   walls  are  flaring  now,  yellow, 
 white, almost blue. i  close my eyes and 
 curl into  a  ball. but  then, the glass 
 boy   screams,  a  piercing  sound  that 
 forces my eyes  back open. i watch as he 
 becomes  too  liquid, his  body  pooling 
 down in his  now  massive tail, and  the 
 tip of  it suddenly breaks of in a glass 
 drop  that  falls  toward  the   factory 
 floor.                                   
                                          
 he's  crawling on the stairs,  unable to 
 keep  his body upright. can't  reach the 
 levers,  claws  at  my  chainmail  cage, 
 while his  body  is  turning  into  dark 
 pearls. finally, he's lost  too  much of 
 himself  and  the scream  is  cut short. 
 the   last    of    him    rains   down. 
                                          
 i  still  can't  reach the  levers  from 
 within  my  cage.  looking  up, i try to 
 make  out the  ceiling,  but  it's all a 
 whirling sea of colours.  below me glows 
 the hellfire of the  factory  walls, but 
 very faint. i sit  down, curl  back  up, 
 become still.                            
                                          
                                        
                                      
                          
                                      
                                        
                                          
 a  large  clunk  shakes  my entire body, 
 and snaps  me  back  into  reality.  i'm 
 back  at  the  factory  floor,  but  the 
 stairs   are  still   moving   slightly, 
 clicking in place,  carrying me the last 
 few  centimeters.  i  came  from  below, 
 somehow.  the  chainmail  is  retracted, 
 and  i  slowly  dismount   the   stairs. 
                                          
 shaking and crying, i  make my  way over 
 the factory  floor, wading  through dark 
 glass  marbles. a quick glance down, and 
 i  see there's  something  faint  inside 
 them.   embryos?    are    these   eggs? 
                                          
 i   shudder,   and   climb   back   out.